He writhed with curiosity about human beings, and as the ancient proverb taught, curiosity was the opposite of a waistline: when starved, it grew. Perhaps the time had come to slay this silly obstacle to comprehensive friendship. He would turn and watch as she—

With a squeak of terror, Awmit spun his head toward the roar. A moment before, he and Tompa were alone, safely alone, but now a bloated, bald, ugly head materialized out of nowhere, attached to nothing. Its pasty, furrowed forehead and three glowing red eyes were neither human nor Klick, the only alien creatures Awmit knew. The head offended negatively his nostrils with otherworldly stink, yet it appeared solid as it hovered over a table cluttered with toiletries.

“You are a forger, Tompa Lee, and the Chroogin race condemns you to commit suicide.”

“You got the wrong girl, jerk,” Tompa said in a brave yet quivering voice. “Forgery’s one of the few crimes I never tried.”

She laughed. The sound was puny compared to the apparition’s roar.

About the Book

Title: The Triumph of Tompa Lee

Author: Edward Hoornaert

Genre: Science Fiction

Tompa Lee—orphan, anti-social loner, and homeless street meat—has clawed her way up to the stars. There, on planet Zee Shode, she finds the galaxy’s greatest treasures: friendship and love.

Happily ever after? Not if the Galactic Trading Council has its way. The Council rules by divide and conquer, and Tompa commits the unforgivable crime of forging an alliance between humans, Shons, and Klicks.

The Council hires Lily Kilsing, earth’s most feared bounty hunter, to deal with her. Kilsing lures Tompa to a deserted alien city by kidnapping her fiancé and her best friend.

Aided only by the voices of dead people, can Tompa outsmart the huntress, or will she be forced to sacrifice her own life to save her loved ones—and the future of the Shon race?

Author Bio

Edward Hoornaert is not only a romance writer, he’s also a certifiable Harlequin Hero; he inspired N.Y. Times bestselling author Vicki Lewis Thompson to write her favorite Harlequin Desire, “Mr. Valentine”, which was dedicated to him. In the past, he wrote contemporary romances for Silhouette Books, but these days he writes science fiction adventures–usually with elements of romance.

Fresh out of university, he taught at a one room school accessible only by floatplane. Students came to school on a school boat. His next teaching job was a step up—a two-room, log-cabin school. In addition to novelist and teacher, he has been a technical writer, salesman, janitor, and symphonic oboist.

After having 30 different addresses in his first 28 years, his rolling stone slowed in the mountains of British Columbia and stopped in Tucson, Arizona. His high school sweetheart has been his wife for more years than he has fingers and toes to count. Ed and Judi have four children, a dog, and a cat which (unlike some famous authors’ cats) is of absolutely no help in writing.